Everyone Gets a Turn

Written and illustrated by Marianne Dubuc

Princeton Architectural Press

978-1-7972-2729-0

60 pp.

Ages 3-6

March 2024 

Turtle, Hare, Bear and Mouse are spending a beautiful day in the forest, when they discover an egg. They decide they will each take turns caring for it. 

From Everyone Gets a Turn, written and illustrated by Marianne Dubuc

At Mouse's house, a voice from within the egg declares that it is cold so Mouse hurries to remedy that. First, Mouse lays a fire and then he wraps the egg in a scarf and a hat. Mouse is very kind and accommodating,

The next day Mouse takes Little Egg to Bear's house. But Bear's lifestyle is a little more active, and while he exercises Little Egg cracks. Though it's apparently too tight inside the shell for Little Egg now, it needs a little help to get out. When Little Bird finally emerges, exhausted for her efforts, Bear offers comfort.

From Everyone Gets a Turn, written and illustrated by Marianne Dubuc

Then, it's on to Hare's house where the rabbit is surprised to see a bird, not an egg. But now Hare has to meet another need for their new ward: food. And though Hare has a stacked pantry, it's a bit of a mystery what Little Bird will eat.  

 

Finally Little Bird is taken to Turtle's place, a house of wonders. It’s filled with trinkets that have stories and that sparkle and that amaze Little Bird and make her dream.  

From Everyone Gets a Turn, written and illustrated by Marianne Dubuc

But when Turtle wakes up the next day, he is bereft that she is missing. All the friends are in tears, until they realize that Little Bird’s absence is just the next step in the bird’s development. Gone from one place, or four places, does not mean gone forever.

 

Each of the friends gets a turn with Little Egg/Little Bird and each excels at giving their ward exactly what she needs, whether it’s a little warmth, a little assistance in cracking the shell, sustenance, or the inspiration to dream. Like parents who must support and encourage their children until they are ready to become independent, the four friends learn to work together to be everything Little Egg/Little Bird needs until she can do for herself. And just because she has become independent, it doesn’t mean that she longer wants them in her life. Marianne Dubuc gives us a story that all parents will need to learn sometime in their children’s journey to adulthood. Her message is one of love and support but also the courage to let them fly and be their own selves. 

 

Marianne Dubuc has always created soft worlds, just as she did in On Baba's Back, Bear and the Whisper of the Wind, and Little Cheetah's Shadow. Like Beatrix Potter, who could see worlds and relationships within the animals of the natural world, Marianne Dubuc takes us into their homes, the forests, and the meadows with her subtle use of ink, watercolour, and coloured pencil. She shows us ourselves as we are or could be: friends, parents, children, good people. And she teaches sophisticated lessons of sharing and caring delivered by sweet creatures who are uniquely themselves, while being supportive and cooperative. And though a message about sharing and taking turns may seem paramount according to the title, Everyone Gets a Turn also speaks to the steps we all take in our development, going from needing to be nurtured to shifting to self-actualization.

On Baba's Back

Written and illustrated by Marianne Dubuc

Princeton Architectural Press

978-1-61689-912-7

24 pp.

Ages 1-4

January 2022

In a sweet board book perfect for the very young and their caregivers, Marianne Dubuc charms with a story of family, protection, patience, risk-taking and letting go. And it's all with koalas!

From On Baba's Back by Marianne Dubuc

A young Koko enjoys being carried on Baba's back. But Koko does everything a little koala would do while on Baba's back: eat, play, pee, bathe, and go for walks.

From On Baba's Back by Marianne Dubuc

But sometimes the young want to do something different than what their elders have chosen for them to do. When Koko sees a blue butterfly, a "There!" signals to Baba what Koko wants.

From On Baba's Back by Marianne Dubuc

Still, Baba keeps walking so Koko climbs down to follow the pretty insect. And though taking a risk and leaving the protection of Baba's back might not necessarily be the safest decision, what Koko finds brings joy to both Koko and Baba.

From On Baba's Back by Marianne Dubuc

There will always be a time when a child will take their first steps to independence. It may come with first steps literally or by making choices different than their elders or by leaving the intimate protection of family. For Koko, it is all of these. And though Koko's self-assertion could've been a little scary for both Koko and Baba, there's a satisfaction that comes from taking those independent steps, especially knowing that the safety of family is still there at the end of the day. Though these steps can be milestones, Marianne Dubuc keeps the story very simple, with the text perfect for an early reader or for reading to a baby or toddler who will soon learn the limited phrases. Likewise, Marianne Dubuc doesn't overwhelm her artwork with too much of anything. The stars are Koko and Baba, clearly identifiable as koalas by their ears, with an emphasis on only a few other details like an ice-cream cone, a pee puddle, a ball or a butterfly.

While Baba is a term for father in a number of Asian cultures, it also can refer to a grandmother in eastern Europe. Either way, it is a loving elder who can provide protection for the youngest family members and that's what Koko finds on Baba's back: the security and freedom to learn to become independent.

No Help Wanted!

Written and illustrated by Ruth Ohi

North Winds Press (Scholastic Canada)

978-1-4431-6360-6

32 pp.

Ages 3-8

July 2019

Posy would be considered a keener, though in the adult world we might think of her as a bit of a control freak. She insists on taking control of any situation regardless of the efforts others make to share and support. So when Posy is tasked with the classroom job of taking care of their fish Bluey, Posy is all in. She feeds him, reads to him, sings to him and presents him with popsicle-puppet performances. (There are free downloadable pdfs of the jellyfish and fish shapes used, as well as a mask.) But when others offer to join in with their own puppets or play vet, Posy's signs of "Private" and "Keep Out!" make it clear that she is all Bluey needs.

From No Help Wanted! by Ruth Ohi

But, when Bluey starts to look unwell, regardless of Posy's extraordinary efforts, including a full-scale–love the pun!–fish-themed musical, Posy hides his fish bowl behind books, thinking that everyone would blame her.  It's not until she see Bluey resting at the bottom of the bowl that Posy recognizes the need to ask for help. With kindness, the kids ask "What can we do?" and "How can we help?" and come to Posy and Bluey's rescue.

From No Help Wanted! by Ruth Ohi

While Ruth Ohi's artwork was first introduced to youngCanLit readers via the text of others, I'm so glad that she has been writing her own picture books for many years now. From her Chicken, Pig, Cow series, or Fox and Squirrel books, or her many stand-alone picture books, Ruth Ohi always blends important messages about teamwork, compassion, and friendship with text and illustrations that are designed for young, young readers. These stories could be the basis of any character education program. Moreover by ensuring that there is no hyperbole or exhaustive language that reaches beyond the reading abilities and comprehension of her readers. Ruth Ohi sees and tells the story from the perspective children need in order to appreciate the message. As adults, we recognize Posy's enthusiasm for Bluey as somewhat high-handed but young children will just see it as bossy. What they will also see is that bossy kids need to learn how to work with others and that a little help is always welcome and not always a condemnation of efforts made.

From No Help Wanted! by Ruth Ohi (Image retrieved from http://www.ruthohi.com/books-recent#/no-help-wanted/)

Though her text is faultless, precise and communicative, it's still Ruth Ohi's illustrations that will draw children into the story. They will see themselves among the many children of different skin tones and hair types, of different abilities and personalities. One boy is in a wheelchair, a girl wears glasses, and some are shyer relative to Posy's exuberance. In fact, the class itself could be any class from kindergarten with its role-play props, or a Grade 1 or 2 class with numerous books and kids who can read and write. Moreover, by choosing a palette of pencil crayons and watercolours that are light and soft, Ruth Ohi makes sure that the message is swimming in subtlety and far more peaceful than one emboldened in colour and text.

There are many ways to send a message to children and No Help Wanted! finds an affable way in words and art to demonstrate that everyone at one time or another needs a little help and it's okay to ask.

From No Help Wanted! by Ruth Ohi

Prince of Pot

Written by Tanya Lloyd Kyi

Groundwood Books

978-1-55498-944-7

216  pp.

Ages 13+

September 2017

I live in the middle of a forest.  On a grow-op. With bears.  And I get shot at on my way home. (pg. 61)

This is definitely living on the edge.  Isaac Mawson's family has been keeping a marijuana grow-op for forty years, starting with Isaac's grandfather Walt who is now debilitated by a stroke.  Their rustic lifestyle includes a cabin with few amenities and a quintet of bears as companions and homeschooling until Isaac and his older sister Judith reached Grade 8. But, though he's in town regularly for school–he's in his final year–and for the grow's supplies, and to see his sister who'd been desperate to leave, Isaac has always found solace in the woods, as well as his artwork.

Once we're in the trees, my lungs expand.  I suppose most people relax when they open their front door and smell dinner cooking.  For me, it's as I step into these hemlocks. (pg. 51)

Then, on one of his routine scouting expeditions, he meets Sam Ko, a new student at his high school and Isaac is smitten.  Sam is a big personality with lots of grit and guts and a flair for drama, on stage and in life.  Too soon he's crushing on the sixteen-year-old and she's bringing him more attention than he wants, bragging about his interactions with a bear (it was the lovely tame Hazel, a bear his father had rescued) and dragging him to her home and parties and sharing his special places with her friends.  And then he learns her dad is a RCMP corporal.  Isaac is torn between having Sam in his life and keeping his family and their lifestyle safe from attention, especially of the law enforcement variety.

Tanya Lloyd Kyi may be better known for her numerous books of middle-grade non-fiction (e.g., Canadian Girls Who Rocked the World, Whitecap Books, 2011; 50 Underwear Questions, Annick Press, 2011; Eyes and Spies, Annick, 2017) but her collection of teen fiction is growing.  Prince of Pot is her fourth YA book and Tanya Lloyd Kyi capably tackles typical teen issues like first loves, grief, and independence with less common ones of pot grow-ops, teen pregnancy, and dyslexia, grabbing her readers with the familiar and the unusual.  Tanya Lloyd Kyi astutely recognizes that for some the atypical is the familiar, and by writing about these unusual circumstances, she's actually letting many teens see themselves in her writing.  Isaac's situation of living in the woods and helping with his family's grow may seem foreign to many of us but, you can bet, somewhere there is a young person who knows that life, those fears and restrictions of living outside of the law. But there's another who knows the dangers of habituating wild animals such as bears, and another who is infatuated with another and doesn't know how to reconcile the conflict of being with that person and the life they want to or need to live.  This is what works in Prince of Pot.  Tanya Lloyd Kyi makes readers completely sympathetic to Isaac's life with his family and the grow and even his actions which can be criminal or gut-wrenching or wholly innocent.  While my heart broke at a turn of events that should never, ever happen in real life, I could see how the story was leading to that moment.  I know Prince of Pot is just fiction but I suspect somewhere someone is living this kind of life.  I can only hope that, while we enjoy the book as an entertaining read, this story might provide guidance to living well, both within the family and independently, as well as within the law and outside of it, if that so happens.

Sam & Eva

Written and illustrated by Debbie Ridpath Ohi

Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers

978-1-4814-1628-3

40 pp.

Ages 4-8

October 2017

Young artists Sam and Eva may create in different media–she uses paint, he uses chalk–but it's all about the art.  That is until Sam's velociraptor goes after Eva's marmot.  Then it's "game on" between the two creative children as their artistic creations battle it out for wall space and story dominance.

From Sam & Eva

by Debbie Ridpath Ohi

The story starts with Sam busily creating when Eva offers to collaborate with him, though she mistakenly calls his velociraptor a pony.  Oops.  Needless to say, Sam is not impressed and declines her offer and erases her contribution. But then she paints her own creature, a marmot, which he identifies as a cat and allows his hungry velociraptor to attack.  

From Sam & Eva

by Debbie Ridpath Ohi

But, with a duelling paintbrush, Eva creates a friend for her marmot which comes to its defence.  Not to be outdone, Sam adds an ominous companion of his own.  Then as each changes their artwork and adds new components to outdo the other, the artwork gets away from them both.  It is only with a little cooperation and teamwork that Sam and Eva can escape the mayhem and start a new artistic course.

From Sam & Eva

by Debbie Ridpath Ohi

Oh, Sam and Eva, you little darlings! They're friends but they want to be independent and creative and, like play can do, it gets a little out of hand.  I'm sure there's an adult somewhere who would love to declare, "It's all fun and games until someone gets hurt!" Or a velociraptor goes after a little marmot.  And, even though the text is subtle and the dialogue effective in drawing the two together and apart, Sam & Eva is so well illustrated that it could work as a wordless picture book. 

I first reviewed a book illustrated by Debbie Ridpath Ohi five years ago (I'm Bored, written by Michael Ian Black, Simon & Schuster, 2012) and was charmed by her creations.  She was able to create a potato with attitude!  Though I would never consider the children to have attitude, Sam and Eva are emotive in their play: happy, pleased, proud, startled, distressed, angry and frustrated.  And Debbie Ridpath Ohi conveys that with just the slightest of lines and shape.  Even the flowers have facial expressions. It's wondrous!

From Sam & Eva

by Debbie Ridpath Ohi

(Book jacket)

Be sure to pay attention to details in Debbie Ridpath Ohi's illustrations.  Look for the chuckling monsters and the monster with scissors or the one grabbing Eva's hat.  Even the endpapers tell a story. The front endpaper is a blank wall awaiting work by chalk while the back endpaper is a kaleidoscope of colour from both paint and chalk.  

We know that art brings joy and that happiness is multilayered when it comes from children learning through play and cooperation and from the artistry of Debbie Ridpath Ohi.  Enjoy and learn.

Sam & Eva sticker from Debbie Ridpath Ohi

Twisted

by Lisa Harrington

Dancing Cat Books
978-1-77086-413-9
240 pp.
Ages 13+
September 2014

On the day Lyssa Thomson, 18, buries her mother, she's on a bus, leaving her drunken, step-father Vince–who used to lock her in her room–in River John and heading to Halifax to move in with her boyfriend, Kyle, hopeful of starting at Dalhousie in the new year.  Finding Kyle with another girl, Lyssa wanders in the rain until she finds some shelter at a coffee shop where an employee, university student Liam Stewart, helps her contact Vince's son–Lyssa's step-brother–Aidan with whom she'd always been close before he left without telling her two years earlier.

Though still hurt about Aidan's departure, Lyssa accepts his offer to stay at his house, which is near campus and the coffee shop where she gets a part-time job.  Aidan is still not forthcoming about anything though she learns through his girlfriend, Marla, that he manages a bar and they'd met in a psych ward when Marla had attempted suicide. Not knowing that Marla and Lyssa had already met, Aidan continues to tell his step-sister half-truths about Vince accusing him of trying to kill him and having him sent to Halifax for a psych evaluation.  

But, Lyssa is starting to see discrepancies in what Aidan says and does, and turns to Liam for some advice and perspective.  Liam, a pre-med student, does all he can to help Lyssa out, though his own relationship with his girlfriend, Lynnie, is becoming complicated.  Everything must seem complicated to Lyssa: her much-adored step-brother is thinking about returning home and wants her to go too; the boy she's crushing on seems into her but still has a girlfriend; Kyle is coming around asking for a second chance; and Vince is looking to track Lyssa down. But Lyssa has a good head on her shoulders and, with her helpfulness and work ethic, she establishes a good support system at work, something she's going to need if she is to endure (survive?) some harrowing situations.

Mental illness can be debilitating but imagine if you are teen who has never been privy to discussions about a family member's illness.  While being unaware of triggers or symptoms, you may also feel that others are being unfair to that family member when labeling him as insane or crazy or irrational. Lyssa shows incredible fortitude in the face of extraordinary circumstances like her mother's death and boyfriend's unfaithfulness.  But, with Aidan being the only one she still considers family, she is reluctant to castigate him for his reactions, until she accepts that his thinking is twisting his perceptions, the truth and their lives.  Lisa Harrington brings the issue of mental illness out of the closet and into the danger zone, where secretive discussions and ignorance are preventing effective treatment and establishment of a supportive family.  By not speaking about it, everything goes from bad to worse.  And Lisa Harrington's writing is oppressive with the tension of Lyssa's tenuous relationship with Aidan. If Twisted is anything beyond a young adult story of finding love and support under difficult circumstances, it's a cautionary tale of the dangers of refusing to talk about mental illness and shaming those dealing with it.

A Woodpecker's Tale

by Sean Cassidy

Fitzhenry & Whiteside

978-1-55455-284-9

32 pp.

Ages 4+

June, 2014

They grow up so young, don't they?  One minute they're little white eggs, and next they're looking out the hole of the nest, sure that getting food is as easy as mom and dad make it look.

"I've watched you, Mama. Find an old tree.  Hammer the wood.  Eat the yummy bugs.  I can do it." (pg. 9)

As much as Mama frets about Pierce setting out on his own feeding, he is convinced that it will be easy.  However, several encounters with animals who don't appreciate his selection of trees leave Pierce hungry and trembling.  It's only when he uses his head–rather large, in fact–that the young woodpecker is able to fill his tummy and return home to rest.  

A Woodpecker's Tale is all about the young taking initiative and becoming independent of their parents (a lesson some human parents might well heed). And even though Pierce makes some potentially hazardous mistakes along the way, Mama who seems to be watching from afar does not step in and take control.  She's wise enough to trust that what he has learned from her modelling will be sufficient to prepare him for whatever obstacles he might encounter.

The Tell-Me-More! Storybook series of which A Woodpecker's Tale is Sean Cassidy's second (his first, Kazaak!, was reviewed here) always enriches the sweet story with information about the animal featured.  Included at the back of the book is information about key features of woodpeckers (did you know their tongues are barbed?), the different kinds, how they care for their young, how they locate bugs, and even how to draw adorable Pierce.  There's even some info about the Virginia opossum, one of the animals that Pierce encounters.

Several years ago I had the privilege of visiting Sean Cassidy (posted on July 17, 2012) at his home and studio to witness the creative stages that go into producing a children's picture book.  It's evident from A Woodpecker's Tale that the diligence with which Sean creates his charming characters and illustrates the natural settings (reflective of the beauty of his surroundings) ensures that this story will not falter over time, entertaining our youngest readers whether they favour fiction or non-fiction.